


Thank goodness for friends with no boundaries

by CaranilNymeria



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: College AU, F/F, Human AU, america and kate are in a relationship but it's all offscreen, this fic is completely and shamelessly self serving. i just want them to be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 00:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17991593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaranilNymeria/pseuds/CaranilNymeria
Summary: They had the terrible habit of planning date nights, then canceling them at the last minute in favour of staying home. Which meant that now, instead of blissful solitude, what Loki had to look forward to was an entire evening of them trying to be quiet and failing.Loki meets Verity for the first time, and she doesn't know what hit her.





	Thank goodness for friends with no boundaries

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be an entry for Femslash February, but, as always, I am late. Also, transfem!Loki is canon in the comics, I will not accept any criticism on that. Thank you to Avia @patrexes for her help with the css and the moral support!

Loki liked her friends. Really, she did. Kate was a very compatible roommate, an insightful and enjoyable conversationalist and yet extremely respectful of Loki’s spaces (as in, those lengthy stretches of time in which she did not leave the insides of her own head), and America, with her endearing arrogance, was the perfect partner for flirtatious banter-y trash-talk during game nights, as documented by Kate in extensive video footage. She’d even been, from the very start, an enthusiastic supporter of their blossoming romance. However.

They had the _terrible_ habit of planning date nights, then canceling them at the last minute in favour of staying home. Which meant that now, instead of blissful solitude, what Loki had to look forward to was an entire evening of them trying to be quiet and failing. 

Loki, sat on the corner of the sofa closest to the floor lamp, expertly tied a small knot in the red thread she was working with, cut it, and then stuck the needle in the pincushion she was wearing on her wrist. As another giggle echoed through the small apartment, she pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and sighed in resignation. She folded the black velvet on her lap and pushed it in a basket with all the rest of tools. She grabbed it and her coat and closed the door behind her.

**Today** 10:23 PM  
**Loki** :  K, I'm heading out  
**Loki** :  be back in a couple hours  
**Loki** :  have fun with A

____________________________________________________

This particular study area was secluded enough from the rest of the buildings that not many people knew of it, which made it instantly Loki’s favourite place after her bedroom and the coffee shop she visited every morning. It was open 24/7, and separated into several cubicles big enough to comfortably sit six people, but the glass partitions didn’t reach all the way up to the ceiling, which meant that one could spend as many hours as they wanted crying over their midterm papers without ever lacking proper air flow. 

Since it was midterms season, there were predictably no empty cubicles, so Loki slid, with an apologetic half-grin, into one that was already occupied by a red-haired young woman with very striking tattoos on both arms, and headphones on.

The stranger returned her awkward smile and immediately went back to typing furiously. She had three books open around her laptop and did not look happy about it, which was understandable, given how they seemed to be detailing very intense computer programming exercises. 

Loki, relieved that her assumption about this woman - namely, that she wouldn’t want to be _friendly_ \- was entirely correct, sat down and got ready to resume her embroidering. It was time consuming to do by hand, yes, but the results were incomparable to anything that could be bought - either from a shop, or from a tailor. Not to mention, she still hadn’t quite forgotten how dangerous it had been for her, at earlier stages in her life, to be seen purchasing feminine clothing. More recently, she had been lucky enough to find a few tailors who didn’t have problems with her, and so she had indulged, as a special treat, in the occasional custom-made garment; simple alterations were still something she preferred to do herself, though. Besides, it was extremely soothing. 

She placed the embroidery hoop in a new spot on the velvet, and closed it with a delicate click - she didn’t notice the young lady opposite her glance at her, probably curious about the source of the noise.

Loki let her work absorb her, the small red shapes slowly spreading over the dark fabric. She appreciated the repetitiveness of it, the way her mind could empty itself of all other thoughts and worries that constantly gnawed at her, focusing only on the movements of the needle and thread. An hour or so later, the stranger collected her things and left, smiling at Loki on her way out of the cubicle, and leaving behind her a trail of floral perfume.

Loki felt… curious about her. Yes, curious was the right word. Who was she? 

_Campus’ too big. You’ll probably never met her again_ , she reasoned, and she tried to push both the attractive stranger, and the unusual feeling of longing, out of her mind.

____________________________________________________

**Today** 2:47 AM  
**Loki** : have u seen my laptop  
**Kate** :You left it on the kitchen table  
**Kate** : Hurry up!  
**Loki** : oh come on  
**Loki** : it's not like we're in actual danger  
**Loki** : someone probably just burnt their toast  
**Loki** : or tried to microwave a fork  
**Kate** : You can't know that  
**Kate** : Put your clothes on and get your ass down here

____________________________________________________

“What was all the rush?” Loki asked, annoyed enough to feel awake. The chill breeze making her pull her coat tighter. Of _course_ the fire alarm was going to go off on the coldest night in two weeks. 

Kate smiled at her, far too happy given how her incredibly strict sleep schedule had just been disrupted. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes darted to her left, and when Loki followed them - ah. The cute redhead from the library.

She looked back at Kate, narrowing her eyes. “How do you know it’s her?”

“Nocturnal, double sleeve of tattoos, computer science major, quiet…” she enumerated with a shrug. “Enough to investigate. You _never_ mention strangers.” Loki did not like the conspiratorial glint in Kate’s eyes.

She sighed. “Did you pull the fire alarm just to…”

“Nope! Totally a lucky coincidence. Anyway, her name is Verity Willis. Good luck!” And she ran off somewhere, disappearing in the crowd, her irritatingly cheerful voice lingering behind her. 

The stranger - Verity - didn’t seem to have noticed them at all. Which was oddly disappointing.

Why was it disappointing? Loki shook her head, and, before she knew what she was doing, she had walked all the way to Verity and pulled out a cigarette. “Hey, do you have a light?”

“Sure,” the woman replied, fumbling for a few seconds with her pockets. She finally produced a Zippo, and offered it, open and lit, to Loki, who leaned forward, cigarette in her lips, eyes darting between the flame and Verity’s eyes. She held the eye contact for a second, then looked to the ground, her fingers on the lighter slightly twitching.

Okay. Less forward, then. Loki positioned herself next to the woman, staring into the crowd like she was doing. “I hate it when this happens,” she said, casually.

“Yeah, it’s kind of annoying.” Verity replied in the same tone. “How’s your project coming along?” she added.

“Oh, the dress I was embroidering? I finished it a couple of days ago.”

“It must have taken you quite a while. Is there a particular occasion for it?”

“Oh, I doubt it,” Loki smiled, “but I may very well end up just wearing it to class.” She’d done similar things in the past, after all.

“Wait a second -” Verity was suddenly looking at her with a curious twinkle in her eyes. “You’re the chick who argued in favour of cannibalism in ethics class two years ago, aren’t you?”

Loki let out a chuckle. “Computer science major and philosophy minor, huh?” She looked at her from under her eyelashes, then she straightened her back and narrowed her eyes, pushing imaginary glasses up to her forehead. “Yes well, the professor really ought to not bring up examples of natural law that she could not adequately defend,” she said, in her most obnoxious transatlantic accent. This earned her a hearty laugh from Verity, which unexpectedly warmed her chest.

“I’m Loki, by the way.”

“Verity Willis.”

They stood in silence, finishing their cigarettes and occasionally glancing at the other and smiling. When the crowd finally dispersed and Verity waved goodnight, Loki’s cheeks were hurting.

____________________________________________________

**Monday** 3:39 PM  
**Verity** : Hey! I sort of ran into this chick with really big hair, and she gave me your number and insisted it wouldn't be weird for me to text you  
**Verity** : Which you know.  
**Verity** : Was super weird.  
**Loki** : Oh my God. I'm so sorry.  
**Loki** : That was my friend America, and I will have some words with her to make sure she apologizes to you  
**Verity** : No no don't worry about it, I mean, I'm glad I have your number  
**Verity** : And this is a hell of an icebreaker  
**Loki** : It sure is :D And I'm very glad you decided to text me!  
**Verity** : Yeah me too :)  
**Today** 11:52 AM  
**Loki** : I was wondering if you had plans for the weekend?  
**Loki** : I wanted to wear my new dress somewhere totally inappropriate, like a cinema, or a vegan fast food place, or, you know. And I was thinking maybe you'd get a kick out of it  
**Today** 4:16 PM  
**Verity** : Would it also be totally inappropriate for you to ride my bike wearing that? I wouldn't mind picking you up!  
**Loki** : That sounds perfect :) Around 7?  
**Verity** : Can't wait ❤︎  



End file.
